Why Metafora: ReFantazio should win the GOTY

Key things

• Metaphor refines Persona's playstyle and formula, improving narrative pacing and combat with a new Archetype system.
• The game breaks new ground by venturing into a fantasy world with unique races and dealing with issues of politics and racism.
• Because the metaphor is relevant to real-world issues, the compelling narrative and deep combat strategy deserve the title of Game of the Year.

Why should Metaphor: ReFantazio win Game of the Year? You can skateboard on a sword. Case closed. There are also two pretty awesome Scouse dog boys. Case closed again. Oh, and it takes Atlus' established winning formula and refines it in multiple ways to create a fresh gaming experience in an exciting new fantasy world. The case was now closed even more firmly than before.

You can't talk about Metaphor without talking about Persona because the two share so much DNA. And you can't dispute that Persona is highly regarded by the gaming masses. While once a niche series, it's now a big name in the mainstream gaming industry, with both Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal considered by many to be the pinnacle of the series, with both titles nominated for Game of the Year 2017 and 2020. (although I'm more of a Persona 4 Golden girl).

The Persona series is critically acclaimed and adored by fans all over the world, so the idea of ​​Atlus trying something new and veering away from Persona felt like a risk to me. When you have such a sure winner, why change the formula? If it ain't broke don't fix it and stuff. But the risk paid off.

This isn't the first time changing the formula has worked for Atlus, as Persona itself is a spin off of the Shin Megami Tensei series.

Improving the Persona template

Metaphor is the new highlight of Atlus. It takes everything that Persona does but improves it and makes it even better. The game will feel familiar to Persona fans in both style and features, but it's cranked up to 11 and adds action-packed combat trappings. The menu itself with their painterly art style is so impressively polished, but the whole combination of music, graphics, art and form is incredible.

Similar to Persona, Metaphor also works on a calendar system. So you'll have one big story dungeon per month, and in between you'll have free time to spend as you please. During this time you can do side quests, optional dungeons or socialize with your companions and rate events to develop your relationships. However, the narrative pace is much better in Metaphor.

You're thrown right into the action right from the start, and you don't experience the same dips you often experience in Persona games where you run into a stupid dungeon or story lull, making progression at times more of a chore than fun. . While you still get the inevitable increase in difficulty that we're used to in JRPGs, the story and pace never waver.

Metaphor also manages to polish and iron out minor annoyances about the Persona template that I didn't even realize I hated as much as I did until I came across a better alternative. Gone is the annoying possibility that you could answer incorrectly during a companion rating event and lose out on leveling up, as now every conversation is rated regardless. There's less pressure to time each day perfectly to ensure you get the most out of every stat and every follower, meaning you can enjoy it even more.

Breaking New Ground

However, Metaphor doesn't just upcycle classic Persona tropes and mechanics, it also breaks new ground. By simply leaving ordinary high schoolers in a modern world setting, Metaphor stands out from the Atlus crowd. It's a fascinating fantasy world full of unique races with their own cultures and traditions, plus magic, dragons and monstrous humans attacking the populace. In addition, he delves into questions of politics and racism, all amidst the drama and pleasure of murder and the chaos of a competition for royal succession.

But just because you venture into the world of fantasy doesn't mean Metaphor isn't related. In fact, with 2024 being a year of political turmoil with several countries having elections, the Metaphor is perfectly timed to reflect our own real world issues. A fantasy setting probably functions as a mirror through which we can analyze the serious problems we face in our own world, one step away, allowing us a different, broader perspective.

The fantasy setting makes everything even more interesting. You don't know the story of why some races are treated as lesser than others, why humans need Magic Igniters to use magic, or where these monsters come from and why they are called humans. It's a fascinating world to find yourself in, with narrative stakes that are all too easy to get invested in.

All about this archetype

One of Metaphor's most impressive features is its game-changing Archetype combat system. Combat is still turn-based and you have the same elemental affinities in play, but each of your party members can have an Archetype equipped, essentially as a job role, like Mage, Warrior, Thief… you name it. But there are countless archetypes, each with their own unique abilities, and you can also inherit abilities from other archetypes you've leveled on that character. Archetypes also work in conjunction with other specific archetypes in the group for devastating combo attacks.

As a result, players are invited into a deep well of strategy and meta-gameplay to create a party tailored to their needs. The boss fights, especially the human ones, offer varied and unique mechanics that challenge you to perfect your party setup and archetype usage, which goes a long way in ensuring that the final boss fight is just as interesting and exciting as it was in the first battle. .

And that's just the beginning. There's no way Atlus would launch such a successful foray into a new fantasy world and then immediately walk away. Metaphor is undoubtedly the start of a new blossoming series, and if SMT and Persona are anything to go by, it will continue to flourish and improve title after title.

Metaphor takes the successful Persona template to a new level of triumph and deserves to walk away with the top prize this year. With a sharp meaning that no other game can match, and a hard-hitting complexity that deserves to be recognized as the best of 2024, I have no doubt that this is the start of a fantastic new series. He deserves to go down in gaming history as one of the greats.